Vanguard Armoured Warrior
by bloodrake
Summary: To be a hero. That is what he was chosen to do. He who had felt so much pain, now stands tall, and fights for a joyful tommorow. When the time comes he and his fellow heroes will charge the frontline and he will be the first to go. For it is in his name.
1. Chapter 1

**(AN:hello this is bloodrake. I would like to first thank you for choosing to read this story. I have worked long and hard on the plot and finally have decided to publish it. I will forwarn you now that the main character is one of my own. So if you don't like it then I understand if you go somewhere else. The first couple of chapters will be focused on the main character. But when it starts to pick up you will see many of your favorite DC characters pop up soon. With that said enjoy the story.)**

New York City, New York 9:00 P.M EST

It was a peaceful night in New York. The people walked around the city to going on with their lives like any other day. However, within the darkness of an alley, a painful cry went unheard by the people who walked past it. A boy, no more than thirteen years old, was on the ground a fetal position, the result of a punch to the stomach, with three large teens around sixteen years of age, dressed in the typical jock uniform: jeans, a pair of converse brand shoes and a white t-shirt worn underneath jackets that showed the colours and insignia of their school's team. The trio surrounded their prey like a pack of wolves, in a semi-circle formation. The leader of the group, due to his being in the center of the group and being the largest of the three, crouched to look at the younger boy's face to show a crooked grin. He grabbed the boy's head tugging him up by the hair to lift him to his feet. The larger boy cocked a fist back before saying.

"Its time you learn a lesson kid" a scowl crossed the large boy's face, "don't mess with Bobby, especially not when I'm about score with a hot girl like your sister."

"Yeah...right" the boy wheezed, his own scowl crossing his face as he took note of Bobby's perverted grin upon the mentioning of his sister, "I'm not gonna let you harrass my sister... I won't let you hurt Megan, so..." the boy swung back his leg and let it fly, the leg crashing into Bobby's knee. "Fuck off" Bobby bent down, clutching his knee in pain, releasing the young boy as an added bonus. Bobby quickly recovered before raising up to his full height.

"You won't huh? You know Max...this mean we'll have to hurt YOU instead." The bully said with a chuckle followed by his two friends. He shot his arm forward aiming for the younger boy's face. The helpless boy could only squeeze his eyes shut and brace himself for the pain soon to come...

"You know, I hate people who pick on little children. How would like it if you were the one to be beaten to a pulp?" Came a voice out nowhere. The next thing to be heard was grunts of pain followed by two thumps that hit the concrete. Max opened his eyes to see two of the goons out cold, each with a black eye. He looked to see the idiotic Bobby held back, his arm held painfully by the wrist by a newcomer as it bent at an angle it wasn't supposed to be bent at. The stranger appeared to be six feet tall,white, brown hair, and grey eyes. The stranger tightened his grip on the bully, who tried to free himself from the death grip. The strange then spoke up his voice though not scary itself, sent shivers of fear down the backs of both Bobby and the young boy.

"Alright, here's the deal. Let the kid go before I decide to dislocate your arm." backing up his threat as an audible crack was heard when the stranger continued to pull on Bobby's arm. The bully did as demanded and he was released, but took a swing with his free hand. The unknown male merely sidestepped the punch before grabbing the outstretched arm and using the momentum from the punch, spun around, taking the jock with him and let him fly. The bully soared through the air, into the wall and landed in a dumpster.

"Who the hel-agh!" The bully tried to respond to the events unfolding only to have his dumpster tipped and he rolled out with the rest of the trash in it. He released a grunt of pain as a foot was slammed onto his chest by the stranger. The newcomer then grabbed the bully by the scruff of the jacket and hefted the bully up and pinned him to the wall.

"I'll say this once and only once" the stranger growled, hsi grey eyes staring into Bobby's frightened brown ones, "leave the boy alone, and if I catch wind of you doing anything otherwise, then I will show no mercy. Do I make myself clear?" The bully reluctantly nodded and the stranger unpinned him. Once down, Bobby, who obviously hadn't learned his lesson, jumped towards the stranger who had his back turned by now. A right hook aimed for his head. Max was just about to cry out to warn his savior, when in one fell swoop the stranger ducked and twisted counter-clockwise under the punch and retaliated. Slamming his elbow into Bobby's diaphragm, the air was removed from his lungs causing the jock to hunch over slightly, as the hero followed up with a fist-to-face action in the form of an uppercut. Clutching his now bleeding nose, the bully took a few steps back and fell over. The winner slowly walked over to the young boy. He stopped in front of the boy, his shadow enveloping the little boy's entire body. There was a long pause and the boy just studied his savior. The guy was intimidating, the boy was taller up close and the seemingly emotionless expression added to that intimidation, but his eyes showed a sort of determination, eyes that would almost open a door to who this young man truly was. The stranger reached out to the boy in a way to offer him help, snappping the younger one out of his thoughts. The older boy offered a smile.

"You ok?" The younger one only nodded. "Then lets go take you home, your folks must be wondering where you are." The younger boy just kept stare at the other boy until walked again towards the bully again. He reached into the bully's pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He opened up the phone but caught sight of the confused look on the younger boy's face.

"Oh this?" The boy laughed, "Just seeing if I can call this punk's folks and have them pick up these three stooges up and get them home." The younger boy nodded again just as it seemed he had found the number and held the phone to his ear.

"Ah, hello hey I'd just let you know your son is unconscious here and thought you would want someone to pick him and his friends up." He paused, probably listening to the parent's response.

"How? I knocked them out cold, they were picking on some boy, and in an alley no less, he would have seriously hurt the kid had I not intervened." the stranger paused before nodding his head. "Yes I know, they'll be fine they are just unconscious, a couple bruises. I didn't rough them up TOO badly." The coversation went on until the older boy told the parent the location of his/her son. He then ended the call and tossed the phone on the still unconcious Bobby and went back to the younger boy.

"Sorry about that but I thought I'd let his mom know where he was before we left...So, where do you live?"

"Down the street, about ten minutes from here" Max said hesitantly. The older boy caught this and laughed.

"Haha, sorry if I scared ya, didn't mean to. The guy was going to pound your face into oblivion and it just erked me." He said with a smile before stepping aside to reveal the entrance/exit of the alley. "Lead the way, I'll feel better knowing you get there safe." The younger boy did as he was told and they took the short walk to his home. They walked up to the door and the older boy knocked on the door. The two boys were greeted to the sight of a girl answering the locked door. The girl was about 5'4, had the same brown eyes and raven coloured hair as the boy the stranger had saved and judging from the age difference, probably siblings. The sister, named Megan, had shocked look on her face when she saw the older boy.

"Hey sis I'm home." Max smiled, but then tilted his head in confusion at his sister's expression."What's wrong?" Megan shook her head as she heard her brother's words.

"Nothing Max...ummm, did something happen today?" She asked sweetly. The boy look nervious and was about to explain when the stranger beat him to it.

"Your brother was in little mess and I lent him a hand" he said with a nervious voice, chuckling slightly," Yeah, some bullies were about to cause some serious harm had I not stepped in. I only heard parts of was going on, like the guy's name was Bobby and about Max not wanting him near you. I guess he didn't like that." The girl was shocked at the news.

"You mean my boyfriend was bullying my brother?" She got mad at this point. God only knowswhat she will do to her now ex-boyfriend when she saw him again. She calmed down and proceeded to talk again.

"Thank you, I'll take things from here unless I need help again. Good thing you were there too. I can only imagine how humilating it was for them to be beaten so easily." She chukled lightly as the stranger looked uncomfortable and looked away embarassed, a slight blush on his face from the praise he received.

"I guess I should have Max check out just incase of anything serious... so I'll see ya around at school?" She asked. The boy nodded to Megan,

"Sure thing" he replied. And with that he turned and walked away. The girl closed the door and she led her now slightly nauseated brother into the living room. She checked him out for injuries to see nothing to bad, a small cut on his arm, a scraped knee., but he would be rather sore for a while from that punch to the stomach.

"Hey Megan?"

"Yeah?" she asked as she applied the disinfectant on his wounds to prevent them from being infected.

"Did you know that guy? You seemed you did by the way you talked to him." Max asked.

"Personally, no. I just know of him. He is kind of a mysterious icon at our school. His name his David Manner. He very popular, but sticks to himself. He has a habit of beating up any bullies who are unlucky enough to cross his path. Hehe, he even has a nickname; Mr. Brassknuckle because some of bullies he has beaten up swear his punches feel like he wears them even though he doesn't" she laughed as she finished placing the bandages over her brother's wounds. "You got lucky today Max. Next to an actual super hero, David is the next best person you want on your side." With that the girl walked out of the room, leaving Max to really soak in what she said. Next time he meet this David he would properly thank him. However, he was pulled out his thoughts when Megan poked her head back into the living room.

"By the way, mind telling me WHY and HOW you got into a mess with Bobby?" Max chuckled nervously...this was going to be a loooong night.

THE NEXT DAY

It was calm day for David Manner. The sky was clear, the wind blew peacefully up the large hill he was lying on. He was in thought, deep thought. He had some troubles sleeping recently. He laid there trying to put together what he remebered. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the dream...or rather a nightmare...that he had been having for the past few days.

-David's Dream-He was a little boy, no older than six... in a room full of fire. Searing heat ripples through the air, making him feel as if he himself was on fire just by the sensation. One of the walls was a huge window, with a huge, jagged hole in it that let the smoke filter out. He heared screaming and yells for help. David was confused as to why was he here? He turned and was confronted by a blinding white light. He, for some reason, reaches out of to the light then...

His eyes snapped open, forehead full of sweat. He sat up, chest heaving quickly as he tried to clam both his breathing and his heart rate wondering what had just happened. He looks around seeing it was mid afternoon. He got up and dusted the blades of grass off of his jeans. With that he began to walk off.

"God, I hate weekends" he groaned, bored out of his mind, "There too much free time." David said with a voice that just screamed boredom. He needed something to do. It was a perfect day and that's what bugged him. When ever something ever seemed perfect, it just meant you couldn't see what was wrong, it didn't mean it wasn't there. It's not like he had somewhere he could go. His foster father was out on some navy seal bussiness. He had no close friend/friends he hung out with outside school, so he didn't have a place to go hang out. Then there was his house, which again, had nobody home so nobody to talk to! That left him to his own thoughts and one way or another it ended up back to that strange dream.

"Man, this sucks, the one time I need Sam..." David mentally cursed his adoptive father for not being around, "and the guy goes all navy seal on me and leaves me with not even a notice. I mean the guy said he'd set up tougher work outs for a while now, but it never gets done. The training schedule of his is almost no challange anymore." He kept walking along the sidewalk, hoping to find something to do. Of course there is the saying,

"Careful what you wish for", but David didn't care anymore. He just wanted SOMETHING...ANYTHING to just pop out of nowhere and give him something to do. He turned the corner and passed an alley when he heard a scream. His peaked into the alley where the sound came from, all his worries instantly in the back of his mind. He made his way towards the sound and turned another corner in the alley. What he saw made him duck for cover behind the dumpster next to him. In front of him, he saw a goup of seven men and one girl about his age. She had short brown hair that reached just above her neck, green eyes that shone like emeralds, and a slim build. Her skin colour was a lighter shade than the regular skin tone. She wore a pair of navy blue slim jean, and a pure white top. Her feet, covered by blue Converse brand sneakers, tried to lash out at her attackers. Only for the man holding her to throw her down on the ground and kick her in the ribs...hard. The girl released a cry of pain and glanced up from her position on the ground. The look on her face was of pure terror. Tears ready to stream down her face. The leader, who had thrown her down on the ground, grabbed her forcefully and held both her hands behind her back with his left hand and her right shoulder with his right hand. The man had a face of someone you did not want to get to know. It was dirty and greasy, covered with what looked like motor oil. However, his eyes told a different story, revealing the sly, cunning and completely untrustworthyness of the man. He looked at the girl like a predator would to its prey. David's face grew more serious by the second as he watched the events unfold before him. He had to get that girl out of there, but what he couldn't get was how. There were seven men. If you took the guy restraining the girl out of the question it would be six. That be a difficult fight even for him, put into consideration the fact that he didn't know if they had guns on them...well let's not think about that outcome. But he had to try, he called the police on his phone but couldn't get a signal.

'Pfft, typical' he thought. After this he was changing phone services. He put that thought on hold though; he had to get the girl before they tried anyting. It was then he noticed that the leader had had enough with her and yanked out a seemingly damp piece of cloth. He placed the cloth over her nose and mouth on her, it probably had some kind of chemical on it, chloroform most likely. The girl's eyes grew heavy and her scared emerald orb were covered by her eyelids as she blacked out. David knew he was short on time, so he rushed out with one thing in mind "Beat the living hell out of everything" and that is what he did... well TRIED to do. He quickly went behind an unsuspecting thug and kicked him in the back of his knees. The thug fell to his knees from his loss of balance and then fell to the ground in pain as David slammed his palms against the man's ears, discombobulating him. He quickly reacted as another thug tried to hit him and blocked the jab. He countered by punching the man in the nose and then hitting him in the trachea, silencing his attempt to scream in pain. He then sent his opponent to the ground as a powerful kick to the diaphragm. The thug fell on back and tried to get up but was curved stomped and blacked out. David went towards two other goons. They charged and were met with quick kicks and jabs knocking them on thier asses. David was about to head to the startled leader when he was hit, not with a puch or kick but a stun gun. His body spasmed as he fell over in pain. The gang watched as the sixteen year old boy looked as if he were having a chronic seizure before stopping. He dropped to the ground panting from the exertion of his body's nervous system having to fix itself. The next few secounds were a blur as he was restrained the remaining two thugs.

"Looks like we have ourselves a little hero don't we boys?" The leader said regaing his composure after David was subdued. The leader put on a sick smile before raising the black handgun he retrieved from his back pocket. "You know I love these kind of situations where I hold someone's life in my hands" the gang leader looked over his gun, as if admiring its craftmanship. "I get to decide who dies...but mostly...I get to decide who lives" the gang leader smirked,

"I'm like GOD!" The gang leader then put on a thoughtful face. "So the question reamains... what to do with you?" the leader paused as he wiped away a bit of motor oil from his face with his sleeve. "We can't have you going to the cops now can we? It's such a shame really, I woulda of had use for ya, cause for a kid, you got fighting talent...but seeing what your intent was..." The leader looked the gun over as David raised his head. His vision slightly blurred. "Didn't think I needed this, but I guess you learn lessons in life. Well, for you I guess lessons in death" said the leader trying to sound intelligent. He aimed the gun at David's head. All the while David struggled in vain to free himself. The leader calmly pulled the the trigger as he said his final words to the boy.

"Have fun in the afterlife" ...BANG!


	2. Chapter 2

**(AN: ok here where things start to pick up. Enjoy.**

Chapter 2: So it Begins

"Hello"- Regular Speech

'Hello'- Thoughts

**"Hello"- Demon/god speech**

Unknown Area Time Unknown

It was dark. Like space without the stars. He floated within the empty void for what seemed for enternity. His closed eyes shot open, darting around in panic when his vision was met with darkness. Where was he? How did he get here? He couldn't see anything. He tried to remember what he could, but his brain refused to draw upon the memories as it drew a blank. However, a splitting headache hit him with enough force that would have put him back into unconsciousness. The memories of current events came to him. His hands became fists and his teeth clenched. He had failed and had been killed just like a nobody. His anger suddenly disappeared and his arms fell to his side lifelessly. He felt something, an emotion, a feeling that he hadn't felt since his parents died.

Useless.

"Damn it!" He yelled out to the empty void. He had been no help at all and had died like a nobody. Then it dawned him. What of the girl? She was to suffer and he could do nothing. As he drifted aimlessly in the void he felt a pull on his body. And suddenly, it was as if gravity had chosen then to return and David found himself falling. He didn't care, he closed his eyes waiting for this nightmare to end. Then... a voice reached his ears.

**"Is that it? No going to fight for it? David I know your better than this."** said a deep voice. David opened his eyes to not only see he had stopped falling, but to have a shadowy figure, outlined in white light increasing the forming shadows that still hid the figure's face. **"For someone who can survive such hardship to give up like such a weakling is rather disappointing to someone such as myself. I thought better of you, especially after seeing you grow up into the fine young man that you are now"** Though confused, David became enraged by the being's words.

"Who the hell are you?" he roared, "How would YOU know anything about ME?"

**"More than you would think David."** The white being paused **"I have watched you for awhile, seen your true self and I must admit... I'm intrigued. For such a young mortal man as yourself to give your all for someone you do not know at all is well... inspiring"** the shadowed figure stroked its chin and David guessed, it had an indifferent facial expression. **"But now that you've become depressed it's not fun anymore. So tell me my boy... why so down? Is it because you died? If it is, then I can help."** the light embraced figure spoke in an amused voice that made David's eyes filled with anger once more.

"Shut the hell up! Is this some twisted game to you? Am I some television program for to watch for your entertainment? If you could do anything don't waste it on me, save the girl! I don't give a dam what happens to me just save her and I'll be content!" David yelled at the now silent being.

**"Why?"** The white being asked. David's eyes widened at that response.

"Huh?" the teen answered intelligently.

**"Why sacrafice yourself? I mean, why not live? It is only one girl out of the billions alive in on Earth. Why not live a happy life with no trouble?"** the being bombarded David with these many questions.

"What...a-are you fucking insane?" David asked, "And let the girl die? You've got to be kidding me, if you have been watching me then you should know that's not an option for me!" David sighed. "Now please, if you are some sort of god or omnipotent being...please just do whatever you can do to save that girl!" David pleaded.

**"Hahahahaha"** the white being laughed and rolled its head back from laughter. **"Good answer...a VERY good answer"** David looked confused before the figure pointed at him. **"Now there...right there is the boy I have so keenly watched for so long. I must admit though, I didn't think you still had anything left in you, but your stubborn attitude still remains"** it said. **"So onto the next question..."** The being was about to continue when David interrupted.

"What the hell, I dont have time for questions. Can you and will you save the girl? She doesn't have much time!" he yell frustraited. The being chuckled before stretching out its right arm and snapped its fingers. A swirling mass of energy appeared to the white being's left. A variety of colours mixed into the energy vortex before forming an image...an image of the girl.

**"She's unconscious, but she was beaten rather badly after your attempt to save her. She's inside their base...though you are right, she doesn't have much time. One of the men who ambushed her has damaged one of her ribs and if not treated soon it could puncture her lung, any sudden movement and she will be on the verge of death"**

"WELL SAVE HER!"

"**That...depends on your next reponse, David. If I like it I might help, but answer truthfully... I'll know if your lying."** The being smirked upon getting a nod from David. **"To you what is power and if you had it... what would you use it for?"** The being pause waiting for his answer. David thought for a while...he looked down in the darkness of the never ending void before looking back up, staring at the image of the unconscious girl. David felt like fire was lit from deep inside his soul. The fire started was a mere ember before changing into a raging inferno. He smiled almost wanting to shout out his answer.

"Power...Power is the ability to make a diffrence. If you can do something that someone can't, then do it. Prove you can... and you are strong and powerful"

**"And what would you do if you HAD this kind of power?"** David grew serious.

"I would soothe weak with joy until it surged though their veins, I would show pain to those who cause it until they burn for their crimes, and I would protect those in need and show them my determination to them. Like a light at the end of a tunnel, a becon of hope. I would do all of this to my dying breath, and do so over and over again to protect everyone that I am able to protect." He paused for a second to collect himself before he continued. "That is why I can't just sit here and do nothing. If you really CAN do what you say you can do, then please... I don't care what happens to me... if I can save one life it's worth it." His voice never wavered as he said. The outline of the white being's face change, if it were not for the non-existent features on its face, you could swear it was smiling.

**"Well said, Warrior David, well said. So few would make such a sacrifice. You who has done nothing but help, now ask to be ignored so someone else may be saved. You are the mortal I have been looking for...for a long time"** the being held up his hands, **"I not only grant your wish, but also bestow upon you with what all mortals wish for... power. Become my champion, my instrument of peace and harmony. Use your joy, your pain, your detemination to protect and become the vanguard of my power. Do this and you will not only save the girl, but so much more, what do you say... Warrior David?"** The being remained silent, waiting for an answer. David stood there taken back from the offer. A smile graced his face, not gentel smile though,it was a smile of one who had excitment, thrill and anticapation all mixed into one glorious action. A smile of one who was about to go to battle.

"Do you really have to ask?" He said with a sarcastic tone. Unknown to the mortal boy,his stone grey irises became diamond white, glowing within in the darkness of the void. The being chuckled,

**"No...I guess not"** And with that the white being clapped his hands together. Bolts of red, yellow and blue lightning struck outwards, stretching into the deep reaches of the void before receeding, just as quickly as they had formed, back into the figure's now open palms. The bolts of lightning swirled in the being's palms before condensing into three spheres of energy the size of ball was different from the other, each one bearing a symbol in shining white on its form for David to see. The blue sphere, its light shining brighter than the other two orbs had the image of a knight's helmet in shining white. The next sphere, was a golden yellow ball, within and around it you could see yellow electricity surging and the image of ivory wings were visible. The third and final one was an evil crimson mixed with black, its blood red flames sent a uneasy feeling to David, but he didn't show it as he saw the image of what looked like a white scythe of some kind, emblazoned on the energy sphere. The being brought its arm back and thrust it forward sent the three balls of energy flying towards Daivd and hit him the chest. David grunted as he felt the air knocked out of his lungs and suddenly felt the powers of the spheres melt into his body as they sunk into his chest and disapeared. The being bowed its head as if in thought.

**"It is done"** it spoke, **"Now...go! Show those of wicked souls my power... my warrior...my champion...my Vanguard!"** As it said this David felt a pull and he found himself falling once more as a golden portal opened up beneath his form. **"Good luck, David Manner"** were the last words Davud heard before he landed painfully on a solid surface.

Real world 15 MIN after the schooting

Laying in a puddle of red liquid, he sat up upon realizing the liquid was his own blood. Climbing to his feet, he heard a soft "ping" as an object impacted with the ground. Looking down with his diamond white eyes, he saw a crushed bullet in the puddle of blood. He saw his reflection and saw nothing differrent, except his eyes now glowed and he couldn't tell what color. The light of the sun that shone, reflected off the brass bullet that had previously killed him and he could see that his eyes were now shining white, though stained with red from the blood's colour. He didn't stop to think anymore as he looked around. Spotting an opened door. He didn't know what to think of the random door, but when he looked at it he saw a small vision of the past few minutes... the gang had went in along with the abducted girl, but luckily the one carrying her was actually gentle in carrying her so he didn't disturb the dangerously cracked rib that was near to her lungs.

'There's always a soft one in those groups of tough guys' David thought. He crept in, and followed the single, narrow hallway to find another opened door. 'Does no one lock doors anymore...not that I'm complaining' the revived boy thought, rolling his eyes. He widened the opening of the door slightly and observed the room. It was rather run down, but not too bad for a living quarters. The room was lit by a few florescent bulbs, a coffee table which the unconscious girl was next to. A medium sized television sat atop a table near a room which David assumed to be the bathroom due to its white walls and the presence of a plunger near the door. The walls were simple stone, no wallpaper and the floor was stone also. Looking up at the cieling, David noticed some thick wooden poles used to stabilize the room of the establishment and an idea immediately formed in his head as he saw the gang of seven. Five were sitting on a slightly torn, red leather couch while the other two were sitting in brown recliner chairs. They had the girl bound to a separate chair. Her ropes that held uppperbody up were wrapped around the back of the chair with her wrists and ankles bound to the seat so that she wouldn't be able to run away or attempt to escape should she regain consciousness. David froze when he heard a gang member start to talk.

"Hey boss when are we making our next move, we're supposed to be going to meet Louie at the edge of town to go to San Francisco?" he asked confused why their were waiting. The man's fingers drummed against the arm rest of the couch to emphasize his nervousness.

"We got to wait till the heat cools down, Jimmy" the boss started as he took out the cigarette he was smoking and exhaled a cloud of smoke, "I mean, I did just shoot a guy in front of our base of opperations not more than twenty minutes ago" the boss continued. "If we move now, we will get caught" the others nodded in agreement. "Best let it be for now." The leader stated as he took another drag of his cigarette. David glanced around the room, his plan was already in his head, but the classic distraction is what always got things rolling...so...

'Where is that light switch?' he thought, scanning the room before he narrowed his eyes in annoyance at his own stupdity upon realizing the switch was right next to his face. With a single flick of his finger, the plan was set in motion. He flipped the switch and ran into the room quietly. The gang quickly began cursing at the lack of light and one of them quickly ran to the switch and flipped it back on. The thugs smiled at the return of the light, but that smile was replaced with a shocked expression and to no surprise on David's part, turned pale as if they had seen a ghost. There above the them, atop the scaffolding which he had quickly climbed due to his acrobatic abilties, was the young teen their boss had killed. Sitting like a lion overseeing its prey from above.

"No...no way" the boss pointed at David's smirking form, "I thought you were supposed to be dead!"

"Hey, I thought so too, but things just happened to be in my favor" He dropped down feet first. His feet impacting with a thug's face knocking him out with a broken nose. David wasted no time as to take down his opponents who were still in shock at the boy's revival. David rushed towards the two thugs a head of him. They blinked in surprise as David's fists crashed into their respective faces causing them to get bloody noses just like their unconscious teammate. They quickly tried to fight back and tried to overwhelm him with their attacks and larger size, but failed. One of the two had tried a punch to David's head who twisted to the side and skidded forward, slamming his elbow into the thug's stomach before grabbing his still outstretched arm and heaving him over his shoulder. The man couldn't even register what just happened until he met the harsh concrete of the floor. The second thug had tried to kick David, but the David leaned backwards so that his upper body was parallel to the ground and then went with the movement, going into a handstand. David bent his arms and pushed off of the ground, flipping through the air as a result and spun, simutaneously unleashing a devastating spin kick to the thug's face. The thug staggered backwards and tripped over his untied shoelaces and pretty much caused his own defeat as his skull collided painfully with a support beam. The diamond eyed boy smirked in satisfaction before ducking, quickly avoided another one of the thugs as they tried to hit him. David twisted to face his opponent and quickly took a few steps back, avoiding the blows from his opponent easily. He then positioned his body and readied himself for a counter attack. The thug punched, aiming directly at the teen's head. The diamoned eyed teenager quickly twisted, parrying the blow by knocking it away with double palm strike before stepping forward and placed his leg behind his opponent's corresponding leg. David released a yell as he grabbed his opponent by his throat and forcefully moved his opponent downwards, using his leg to aid in this by tripping the thug. The man met the ground headfirst, and became unconscious. The next two try to get the drop on David from behind. David smirked before thrusting his arms out forward and then bringing them back, crashing his elbows into their victims. The two gasped in pain from the blow. The brown haired boy turned to face his,relatively crippled, opponents. He grabbed both men by their throats and hoisted them up off the ground.

'This is weird' David from inside his head as he knocked the heads of two thugs together repeatedly, which from a different point of view would have looked extremely amusing. 'Its like I became twice, if not three times stronger. I mean I'm holding these two guys, obviously heavier than me, and it feels like I'm holding up a pair of feather pillows' The sixteen year old ended his thoughts as he did a rapid 180 degree turn, and used the momentum to slam his victim's already abused skulls into the wall, most likely giving them brain damage for life. The the leader and sixth thug were all that were left. The last thug rushed David apparently too dumb to comprehend he was in over his head. David sidestepped the attack and stuck out his foot and the thug tripped, rolling along the floor from his momentum and became unconscious as his motion was stopped from his face making contact with the wall. David looked up to see the leader had fled deeper into the building. Scanning the room some more, David spied the door that the gang leader had obviously used to escape. However, the boy who cheated death came to realize something...

"Where's the girl?" he exclaimed to himself. The ropes that bound her to the chair were cut, probably with a knife that had a serrated edge due to the rope fibres being haphardly strewn about from their newly formed tips. David ran towards the open door.

'Really though...he could have at least had the sense to LOCK the damn thing, but it was a good thing he didn't' the boy thought as he ventured into the dimly lit hallway on the other side of the door. 'Please don't let her rib have snapped, if he held too tightly in carrying her it could have and punctured her lung and I would have done all this for nothing' Further into the building David went, only to stop when he found an open space made into a make shift living room, which was a lot worse than the room he saw before. That paint on the walls were eroded and the furniture was old and worn. On a chair was the girl. He then unknowingly started to look over the damsel in distress. She had slightly pale skin, though that was probably from the lack of sunlight since she was probably in the gang's base for a good few hours, and the stress had gotten to her. She had short brownn hair that ran to her shoulders and framed her face. She was wearing a white t-shirt that had short sleeves, a pair of blue skinny jeans covered a pair of long, lean legs and a pair of dark blue converse completed the outfit. She was still unconcious and new ropes bound her. The brown haired boy's eyebrow rose in confusion.

'Then what was the point in cutting her ropes in the first place' he thought. David scanned the room and approached her. When he reached her, she was still unconscious, but...he raised her shirt up slightly and saw the large black and purple bruise that marked where she was kicked that resulted in her rib being cracked. He placed a hand gently atop the bruised area causing the girl to moan in pain, even in her unconsciousness. David sighed in relief, the bone was not broken.

"You're lucky that rib didn't break, she could have died...now come out so I can break YOU!" the boy growled. His white coloured eyes scanned the room, searching for the leader of the gang...but to no avail. He then proceeded to untie her when he heard a click. He spun around to be met with the leader with pistol in hand aim at David.

"I don't know what the hell is going on, first you survive a bullet in the head that should of left you comatous if not dead, but now you seem to fight on the level as a super hero. I have been in this bussiness for some time now and this is the freakiest thing to happen to me hands down." Said the remaining member. Feeling his confidence skyrocket with his gun in possession, he took a small step towards the boy that single-handedly took out his entire gang. "Now I am not as stupid as my cohorts so I will make a deal with you" He smiled as he continued to talk. "If you back away from the girl I'll let you go, I don't have the time to do this and I got a schedule to keep." He finished waiting for David's response. David just stood there with his eyes murderously focused on the gunman. He stepped closer to the girl so he was directly between the gunman and the girl. His eyes shone in the dimly lit room.

"No" was all he said.

Back in the dark void

There in the endless void of drakness, there sitting on a trone chair that was black as its surrounding, was the white being laid back as he watched the events unfold before via magical window of energy. In silence it watched. It waited. Then the silence was broken.

"No." Came the sound of David's voice projected by the window. The being then sat up and leaned its elbow on its kneesm as it brought its hands together with hovering over its opposed mouth. It stared before finally speaking.

**"So it finally begins." **Its echoed voice held a serious vibe not present with encounter with David. The being and its surroundings faded back into darkness.

Back in the appartment

The gunman grew aggrivated and finally had enough.

"Fine! Enough of this. Last time I try to save ya from another bullet to the brain, preapre to be the first man to be killed twice in one day!" He yelled as he took a shot David.

BANG!

He felt the impact as he staggered back. David regained his balance before he fell. He stood there for a moment expecting the pain to come to him any moment, but... it never came. David's eyes shot open and looked over his body. He had felt the impact in the chest, when he looked down though he was ... surprised to say the least. On his chest he saw what looked like metal. He looked around himself and saw he was covered in it. Head to toe he was covered in a suit of a silver coloured alloy of somekind. The armour didn't cover his entire face, though only his mouth area and eyes were visible. The metallic covering seemed like a second skin, a layer of the dense metallic substance that didn't even dent from the brass bullet that impacted the suit at over 300 metres per second. It looked like the metal was comfortable enough since the teen didn't show any signs of discomfort once he rose to his feet. David got over his shock to look up and see the leader of the gang about to have a meltdown. The leader of the former gang growled, rage evident in his coal black eyes before he raised his weapon once more and fired another projectile of fused copper and zinc. And for the third time that day, the white diamond eyed teenager watched as a bullet fell from his chest to the ground. David saw this and couldn't help but smile. He strode his way toward the now crazed man, making sure to stay between him and the girl. The man continued to fire bullets from his gun until a click was heard signifying his weapon had run out of ammunition and it was by then that David had reached the slightly taller man's position. The man then tried to use the gun as a way to bludgeon his foe, but the armoured boy grabbed the hand with the gun by the wrist . He painfully bent the wrist at an angle it shouldn't be bent at causing the former gang leader to cry out in pain and release his gun. With the gun on the ground, David forcefully twisted his opponent's wrist and a SNAP echoed off the walls, but were drowned out by the man's screams. David walked over to the gun and kicked it away with his metallic foot before turning to the gang leader who had fallen to his knees in agony, clutching his broken wrist, and bent down, staring into the fallen man's eyes. Black met white and David smiled widely before raising his hand, his middle finger bent back, held at bay by his thumb. He released the finger and the man released another cry of pain as a metal coated finger flicked him with enough force to send his head reeling back and have him lie down on his back. Before he could even get up, there was an armoured foot waiting for him as it pinned him back to his previous position. There was a pause... the only thing heard was the man's small moans of discomfort and pain. Then David spoke.

"Why were you trying to kidnap the girl?" Was all he said. This one sentence sent chills down the man. He didn't know why. The voice? No. It was something else. Then he remembered the eyes. Those white diamond coloured eyes that showed much pain if the metal freak's question went unanswered. The blackness of the man's eyes met the white diamond eyes the filled the dark void of the eyesockets of David's helmet.

"It was a job" the man gulped before continuing, "I-I-I-I was hired to take the girl and go and meet our friend Jimmy at the edge of town and take the girl to San Francisco. There I was to drop her off in a secluded location. He never said where, he just said to call him once we reached San Francisco and he'd give us directions from there...where my pay was to waiting for me." He finished with pain in his voice. The diamoned eyed boy growled as menacingly as a sixteen year boy could as he saw the man was glancing away from him. Basic human psychology dictated that it meant that he was still hiding something. The man squeaked out a scream making him sound like a little six year old girl.

"I HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER I SWEAR TO GOD, JUST DON'T HURT ME!" David nodded and hoisted the man to his feet, glaring dangerously at the man before saying in a calm, mildly deep voice that only a sixteen year old boy could possess...

"Thanks." The next thing the man knew, David raised his hand and suddenly meltalic fist impacted with the leader's skull, knocking him out. The man crumpled to the floor as a result of the metalic punch to his head and David smirked in satsifaction before walking over to the girl he had come to rescue. When he did though he was greeted with the surprise of said girl staring at him with a pair of bright forest green eyes. The only thing to come to David's mind were two questions.

"Are you ok? And how long have you been awake?" He said with no tone of emotion. The girl, had been unable to stop her awed expression hidden, and answered.

"I've be awake since he shot that gun and I saw you standing in front of me...oh yes, and I am alright thank you." She said in a quite and shy voice, almost forgetting the first question as she was distracted by the events.

"Though I do feel a pain in my side" David went up to her and untied her. He check her wrists for any rope burn and noticed nothing else out of place. He sighed before slapping his forehead when he realized what she just said.

"Shit, stay right there...your rib was cracked badly, but they have a bathroom so I'm gonna see if they have some medical supplies in there" the girl nodded as she watched her saviour's retreating back. A few minutes later, David had returned with a few medical supplies; some bandages, moist towelettes and some disinfectant. He gave her the towelettes to wash off the grime and dirt that covered her face.

"Mind lifting your top a bit ma'am?" he asked. The brown haired girl raised an eyebrow at him causing David to blush beneath his armour, good thing it covered the majority of his face. "Only up to your ribcage, I mean...like I said the rib was damaged so I'm just going to see which rib it is and although a cracked rib is normally healed by the body itself, I'm just gonna play it safe and wrap these bandags around your chest...I mean waist...I mean" the armoured hero face palmed as he struggled to not have his sentence come off as a way to touch the girl in a place she would see as inappropriate. The girl giggled at that.

'He's kinda cute when he's frustrated' the girl thought as she pushed back a lock of hair behind her right ear.

"Haha, a doctor and a superhero...you're the whole package aren't you?" this caused David to chuckle nervously.

"Well actually I...I...uh" his eyes widened as he saw the brunette haired girl raise up her top to just below her chest giving him a view of her slightly pale skin (which showed that her natural skin colour was actually a relatively pale skin tone) that covered her flat stomach.

"Well?" she asked, "Hurry up and put on those bandages!" She said in embarassment. David shook his head as his mind returned to him.

"Uh yeah, okay" he did as he was told and finished wrapping the bandages and helping the girl to her feet. "Come on we need to get going and call the cops there is something about this place and bad cell phone signals" he said with an irritated tone towards the end. She followed him outside,noting that that it was close to dusk becaause of the sky's colourful mixture of reds, oranges and yellows with a few hints of pink and purple. When they made it to an alleyway that was about to lead them to the street, they saw no one around. This was due to the time of day and everyone was at home or was already out somewhere else. David let out a sigh of relief. The girl saw this and smiled at his attitude, apparently he wasn't ready to reveal himself to alot of people yet. Then she came up with an idea and spoke.

"So Mr. Hero, what's your name?" she asked in an innocent tone. This caught David off guard and he visibley flinched. He didn't know how to respond. He couldn't tell her his real name that was for sure. He just hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"Umm...well you see..." he tried to find a proper answer his jumbled mess oh a head and came up with nothing. The girl saw the conflict on his face and tried to hold in her laugh. While this was amusing she thought it had gone long enough.

"I meant your hero name silly." She said still trying and failing to surpress her laughter. He realized what she now meant and thanked the helmet like structure on his head as it hid his embarrassment.

"Well to tell you the truth... I have not ever thought of one before now. I'm new to the hero game, you were my first damsel in distress" He said truthfully, not counting all the times he had helped people as David Manner. The only alias he ever remembered was his so called title Mr. Brassknuckles, though that was a horrible superhero name, especially since his outfit had nothing to do with the alloy made of copper and zinc. His was silver coloured after all.

"Well then make one here and now so I can know what to call you. Its kind of hard to thank someone when you know who they are." She said with a teasing voice at the end. This was getting a little much for David, one who wasn't known to be social to a degree. His irritation stopped though when he remembered something.

**'Become the vanguard of my power'**

His face gained a thoughtful look as he remembered the words of the nameless deity. He owed who..or WHAT ever that thing was some respect in the least. His body felt relaxed as he came to his decision. He tilted his head towards the girl. His eyes coming back to life in the void where they shined even brighter than before. When he spoke, his voice sending a wave of understanding to the girl, who stood there in awe as she did when she first laid eyes on him. Her emerald green eyes stared into his white coloured irises that glowed brighter than before.

"I am a protector of those in distress. My body will be their shield and my power, their sword. I shall do everything that I can with the power that has been given to me to protect those who need it. For now on I shall be known as this city's... Vanguard." He finished. His breath never left him. He turned to the girl with a smirk on his helmed face. "So how was that?" He asked her humorously. She giggled.

"I ask for your name and I get a speech...and a corny sounding one nonetheless" causing the boy to chuckle at her succeeded attempt at humour. "You are generous,Vanguard." She said in an amused tone. Though David did not pay heed to this a his thoughts were on somethingelse. To be called Vanguard, for some reason it felt so...so right. Before he could finish his thoughts though he was interupted. "Its Hannah by the way. Hannah Wite." She said calmly with a small shyesh smile on her face. He smirked.

"Well Miss Wite, we better get you to the police and have them come get the morons before they wake." He said in amused tone. He need to get home anyway. After he made sure Hannah was in the safe hands of the police, which he did not meet for the obvious reason that didn't want to have guns pointing at him, one was already enough for one day. He then made his way home via hopping from roof top to roof top, this he rather enjoyed throughly.

"Now I know how a ninja feels" he said to himself as he flipped through the air, landing atop another rooftop. He had found out he could jump pretty high and thanks to his training with his adoptive father he was able to do super powered parkour. He reached his home around the time night fell and snuck into his aparment vai the slight open window he kept open alot of the time. He layed himself onto his couch and stared at his outstretched hand.

"Something tells me this is only get harder as time goes on" he said with grim features on his stood if front of the mirror as he went into the bathroom. He looked the metalic suit over, taking in the details of his body. He did this until a thought popped up in his head.

"How the hell does this thing come off?" He exclaimed. It was friday and he had gone to the store yesterday, so he had the weekend to find out that question. He soon found himself back on his couch, drifting away into a peaceful slumber. Yep the somewhat "normal" life of David Manner had come to a close. What waited him around the corner? We can only wait and see.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: hi this is bloodrake again sorry for not updating. I was trying to get my thoughts together so I dont botch up my first story. Anyway to my few readers, thanks for the positive feed back i hope to keep the story interesting. I have been told by a reviewer that i should get pictures of my story. To me this sounds like a great idea, but atlas I suck at drawing and dont know anyone who can. So i ask if not plea for help in this department. If you or someone you know are interested then please send me a message. Ill try and come up with a better way of describing my characters then i did in the story and trailer posting. Anyway i made this chapter to build up for the next one so please read and review. I will try to get the next chapter u faster then i did this one. Thank you and enjoy. **

Two months later

New York City, New York

10:00 p.m EST

Things in New York were quiet and peaceful. The night sky was bright as the street lights and moonlight shined in almost perfect harmony. On one building there laid a young man in a metallic suit with helmet to match. He laid on a slightly slanted side of the building's roof, with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed showing nothing, but a dark void in his helmet's eye-sockets. This young figure was known as Vanguard, or secretly as David Manner. In the background there was a radio, though not your average radio. It was one of those radios that could pick up police radio signatures. Vanguard had "liberated" the piece of equipment from a bunch of thugs he ran into as Vanguard. It became real handy when looking for anything that required his attention. It also helped him catch some shut eye so he wasn't jumping from rooftop to rooftop. This kept him from sleeping in the day and at school. He did routine checks for what was an hour or so in between every four hours in his sleep. One thing he also had was he was a light sleeper.

Having a Navy Seal drill sergeant as a surrogate father had its paydays. One was the income that he got for Samson's pay check. Two was after all the blood, sweat, and nonexistent tears had turn your body into a glorified human weapon. Third was that you learn to wake up to slightest change in your surroundings. His "father" when he was younger loved to play horrifying "pranks" on poor David and he had to learn to do so in order to has a peaceful sleep.

A loud scream reached his ears and suddenly his radio sprang to life, telling him that there was a mugging taking place somewhere near his location. At this time Vanguard's eyes sprung to life as the white diamond coloured eyes filled the empty voids of his helmet. He darted over the edge where he met a tilted wall of windows that he slid down where upon the end the slide, he power jumped over to the next building, never losing momentum as did so and kept running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He heard a scream and darted towards the source, which happened to be an alley. A man with a gun and a knife in hand had a business woman on ground crying out in panic. The man picked up the woman's purse and was walking over to her.

"Give me the jewellery as well miss." He said with rushed frustration in his voice. He had been too busy to notice our hero sneak up as was grabbed and tossed by his collar. The mugger flew like a ragdoll and slammed into a wall. He got up and in his rage shot at Vanguard, who pushed the woman out of the way and charged as the bullet missed him. As he closed in the mugger went to stab him but was halted when his metal glove wrapped around the blade of the knife. He pulled causing the mugger to lose grip and have his knife stolen. As Vanguard went for him again he did a lucky roll out of harm's way and towards the woman. He grabbed her with unarmed arm wrapped around her neck and his gun to the side.

"Don't come any closer or she'll get it understand me!" He yelled. Vanguard froze as to not test the man. The mugger pointed his gun at the hero. With a triumphant smirk he fired the gun. The bullet hitting Vanguard's helmet causing his head to pull back, but that was it. Vanguard slowly lowered his head to his previous position his body language showing a calm collective hero before he went on the offensive. With one swift throw, Vanguard threw the knife that he had gotten from the mugger and hit the man's wrist head on, embedding the blade into the man's flesh. This caused the mugger to let go of both the gun and woman as he clutched his bleeding wrist.

"You son of a bitch! I'll get you for tha..." he froze as he looked up at the shadowy figure of Vanguard in full charge with his fist cocked back. To the mugger it spelled doom for him and before he could get over his fear he was clocked by the hero's punch and knock out. The woman looked at Vanguard with joy and awe. She was in the corner as the metal hero took her purse from the man and to her inner frustration fished into it until he found her cell phone. He quickly dialled 911 to tell the men in blue about the mugging they had been aware of and how it was solved.

"The perpetrator has been knocked unconscious with the victim safe and sound. Goodbye" he hung up the phone and stuffed the mobile communication device back into the woman's purse. When he did turned to leave but was stopped by the woman.

"Please what's your name? I have never seen or heard of you before" she ask curiously as she wanted to know who her saviour was. The hero stopped and turned back to her with a small comforting smile.

"The name's Vanguard. I'm relatively new to the hero game so I'm not surprise you don't know me" he said with a chuckle of embarrassment. "I would love to stay and chat but I'm not keen on meeting the police just yet so I'll be on my way, goodbye." With that he power jumped to the rooftop above them and went back towards his nap spot of the night to get back to sleep.

Two days later

The day was average for the NYCHS or New York City High School. The students were in class as the clock ticked away. In one class was a teacher who was teaching basic science. He was relatively good at this as almost everyone was paying attention, almost. There in the back was our hero with his head rested on the wall behind him. He was still awake and listening and took most of the current subject to memory. When it reached the next period the students got up for the next class. David was one of the slower ones to get up before heading to his next class. He was in deep thought of the current events as he weaved in and out of the crowd of students. He thought on the whole Vanguard ordeal his life now had. While it was going good so far he knew better to relax as he felt uneasy for the future. He got lost in thought as he bumped into someone.

"Ow" said a small shy voice show no ill will in it. David look towards the source to find none other than Hannah Wite the girl he had saved. Next to her was her friend Megan Yuki the sister of the boy he had saved the day before he saved Hannah. He looked down at Hannah with concern, remembering her injury from two months ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" He said with a passive face. The girls looked up at him for the first time as the realized who they bumped into. Megan was the first to respond.

"Yeah sorry David, we were just talking and all." She said with reassuring voice. David nodded and turned back to Hannah.

"Your Hannah Wite right? You were out of school for while there. They say you were pretty banged up. You sure your ok? I hope I didn't aggravate your injury." David said in a concerned tone. The two girls were shocked that David knew Hannah's full name and knew what had happened to her by memory. David ,who unknowingly, was notorious for forgetting people's names. He never paid much attention to anyone except towards bullies who usually when dealt with were forgotten all the same.

"It's fine thank you. The doctors were able to work on my rib without any incident." She said with a shy voice. David, who was faking a surprised face, nodded and headed to his next class after he said goodbye to the two girls. The two just stood there watching him leave in curiosity before they left for the lunch room.

During lunch

David was outside laying in a patch of grass that was under a tree in the school garden. This was where he spent his lunch at almost every day. Looking up at the sky in a daze. This was abruptly interrupted as Megan and Hannah came in view. They stood over his still laying form with lunch trays in hand, as he wondered why they were here. Megan decided to answer his unspoken question.

"Can we sit with you? There's no more room in the cafeteria." Megan asked politely. David just shrugged and motioned them to sit down. They all just sat/laid there. The girls were talking and at time whispering while David was in his peaceful nap. The girls just looked at him oddly. The bell rang and everyone went to their next class.

The rest of the school day was uneventful for David. He groaned it was another boring day and all he has to do was go to the mall near his apartment and go home.

"Dam, another day to waste. If Sam don't come back in the next month, I'm going to Iraq or wherever the hell he is and ..." he stopped muttering to himself when he saw Megan and Hannah standing at the school entrance apparently waiting for him. He sighed. He might as well see what they wanted. It wasn't like he mind but he was in foreign territory when it came to actually interacting with people so he was cautious. Before he said a word Megan waved him to come over while Hannah seemed nervous, he couldn't blame her. He was a scary guy to be around, always getting into fight and all. It was one of the many reasons he stayed to himself.

"You girls need something?" He said politely with his laid back tone.

"Yeah we were wondering if you wanted to go to the mall and what not. There is nothing better to do." Replied Megan happily with not a care in the world. David to the least was mildly surprised that anyone want to be around him. He had to be sure.

"You sure?" He asked simply, getting weird looks from the girls. Seeing this he opted to explain further.

"I'm not against having company but usually people stay clear of me." He stated with a matter of fact tone showing no negative feeling or anything, like it was a normal thing for people to somewhat fear him. Hannah looked at him with a sad confused face probably thinking something along the or 'Why does it not bother him?' or something. This, though did not come to David's attention as Megan responded.

"Why would we fear you? You help people all the time Mr. Brass knuckles." She said with a humoured tone at the end. David looked to Hannah for her answer. She then replied.

"I wouldn't mind coming along if it's alright with you" she said a small smile. David just shrugged and went towards the mall the girls tagging along behind him.

The mall

The mall was like other big malls. There were many levels of shops and stores. There the three walked in with the crowd they reached the store David normally used to shop for his daily food. He had decided to go with chicken and rice as he had chicken at home he could cut up and make conpou chicken. He got the rice, a case of coke, and some apples. With what he had came for in hand he went up to purchase his groceries. When he pulled his wallet out though, to the girls' surprise, pulled out a large wad of twenties. He paid and walked along with the girls, who were on topic of how huge his wallet was, he didn't let this bother him. He soon spoke up so the girls could hear him.

"So where do you girls want to go?" He asked getting surprised looks from both girls.

"What? I've done what I came to do. So what's next?" With that said they spent the day looking at stuff and at the arcade. The high light of the event was when they found a virtual fighting game. You put on a helmet that covered your eyes along with a vest, gloves, and boots you used to control your character. David of course was interested and participated. Everyone in the arcade stood there stupefied as they watched David ,on a screen, win match after match with ease, and defeat a boss that none had ever beat in a long while. Megan and Hannah just stood there in the crowd wondering where he learned to fight the way he did. Once the screen flashed with colour and a large COMGRATULATIONS! appeared on screen, David took off the helmet and blinked when he saw everyone looking at him with weird looks.

"What? you just duck and punch." he stated simply, but the people around him had seen what he had done and what he did was nowhere close to a regular 'hit and run' like what he claimed it to be. The three then left the arcade around noon.

"Hey David where did you learn to fight?" Asked Megan who was followed up with an eager nod from Hannah, who wanted to know how the boy in front of her got to be so tough. David turned to see an empty bench in the mall along one of the walls. He motioned the girls to follow and they proceeded to sit down. When they sat down David looked at the two before he began to answer Megan.

"Well, I guess it had a lot to do with Sam." He said thinking back.

"Sam?" Asked Hannah who found herself wanting to know more.

" Sam is my adoptive father, he took me out of an orphanage when i was younger. The guy was and still is a plain old stereotypical Navy Seal nut case. He said he saw something in me when I asked him why he did it. Ever since he adopted me, he was hell bent on turning me into the resourceful guy you know me by. He would but me through hell day in and day out. Trained me so that no other untrained person could take me on and walk away from it unharmed."

"So he pretty much turned you into a human weapon of some kind?" Asked Megan, who had a slight nervousness in her voice as she spoke. David looked at her and then looked at the glass ceiling. He eyes glazed a bit from remembering the past.

"In a matter of speaking but nothing like how super villains make their human weapons. He made me what I am through blood, sweat and tears" David said.

"So if your dad is in the Navy...did he never teach you to fire a gun?" Hannah asked. David nodded.

" He never taught how to shoot something larger than a handgun. So I guess it was just his way of keeping me safe. I asked him why he never taught me how to shoot bigger guns out of curiosity. He said that if he were to do that then I might as well be a soldier and he didn't want that...He said war was an ugly thing and I should never have to go through it. In war you go out there with the sole purpose of killing your enemy, no questions asked. You aim, fire, kill and then ready the next shot...like you're robot where you have no free will once you're on the battlefield. War's a cruel thing...with the only plus being that you are glorified for your achievements and get to see your family again when you get back" David sighed. Hannah and Megan were in shock at his little story.

"Well enough about me. Where to next?" he asked putting up a fake smile. They never noticed that the smile was fake and dropped the topic, so they all got up and went to the next mall area.

It was around six and David felt it was time to head home. He was about to tell the girls when...

"BANG!" An explosion broke the sound barrier with a deafening BANG!. David's first reaction was to grab his two tag-alongs and dive behind a nearby Audi R8 that on display for cover. After the girls got their bearings Megan spoke up.

"What the hell was that!" She screamed in fear. In the distance there could heard gun shots. David knowing the basics about guns could tell in was an assault rifle of some kind. Along with the gun shots there was screams of panic. David watched through the windows of the car allowing him a clear view of the criminals. Dressed in full black clothing and wearing black ski masks to hide their faces. The assault rifles aimed towards the sky, firing the bullets as a means of intimidation.

David narrowed his eyes.

"Trouble."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:He guys its bloodrake. I've just got done with this chapter. This was chapter was a little hard to make since I was trying to make it somewhat original. Anyway I've got give yet another shot out to my friend KistuneDragon for helping me out. With out his help the chapter would have been a bit bland in my opinion. So I hope you enjoy the chapter give me feedback on what you think. I'm always accepting idea's and advise since I'm still new to writing stories. Ok enough of me talking up a storm, on with the story.**

Vanguard Armoured Warrior Chapter 4:Acts of Terror

The mall was full of screams as gunshots filled its echoing structure. The culprits of the mayhem were all dressed in ski masks, combat vests, cargo pants and combat boots. They all carried AK47s, which were large assault rifles. "Alright nobody move...and no one gets hurt" one of the criminals spoke. The people all dropped down on their knees and placed their hands on their heads so as to show they were defenceless and unarmed.

"Alright, I want all the women and children on one side and all the men on the other side!" the second person demanded as he shot his weapon skyward. The people instantly moved about, like chickens without their heads and then reverted back to their kneeling positions.

"Now, take out your money and any jewellery you have on your persons and drop them into the bag" the third ski mask wearing man spoke as he withdrew a large bag that he was carrying on his person. As two of the men worked on that, the third was looking around for any unnecessary company. He then passed by the displayed Audi R8 and whistled in amazement. The man ran his hand across the smooth hood. The car was a shining silver with black doors and the wheels looked suited for speed. It was backed up near a wall leaving only a decent enough of space between it and the wall.

"Sweet ride" but he paused when he heard a noise next to the car. The criminal narrowed his eyes and readied his weapon. He slowly made his way over to the side of the car and quickly aimed the AK-47, but blinked when he saw no one there.

"Could have sworn..." the man sighed and then went back to surveying. A soft sigh was then heard from behind the car. Three heads popped out of cover. There, taking cover from the chaos was David, Hannah, and Megan. The girls both had panic written all over their faces. David was in front of them so they didn't see his face which had a calculating look as he tried to figure how to proceed next. He needed to "armour up", but couldn't with the girls with him and he couldn't just ditch them. David turned to the girls as they had ducked back down to hide.

"Alright" he whispered, "We need to find a way out of here. Follow my lead" David poked his head out from behind the car by just a few inches and saw the two men still collecting the large amount of money and jewellery from the equally large amount of people in the mall. The third one was now observing another car on display, a white Ford Mustang with black flames on the sides. David then made a 'be quiet' notion to the girls as he placed his finger to his lips and then moved out from behind the car. Megan and Hannah followed suit. They quickly and quietly traversed the floor and made it to the food section of the mall, which was quite far from the danger zone. The girls began to look around the mall looking for an unguarded exit. Just when they hit a cafe they entered, they heard footsteps. They dropped low at David's command as they ducked into an area that sold Chinese food. They moved towards the service desk and hid behind it. To their horror, the steps seemed to get even closer. From the sound of it there were two of them. David thought to surprise who ever came too close, disarm them, and if need be, shoot the other man with the relinquished rifle. When the steps got louder, David motioned the girls to stay calm. He waited and readied himself to strike. When he saw a boot cross to their side of the service desk, he unleashed hell. He quickly sprung to life as he tackled the man's legs. He raised his fists and slammed them down on the perpetrator's face before lifting him up and crashing a brutal uppercut to the man's chin. The man felt flat on his back, David then quickly reached by the man's belt where he noticed the small handgun and drew it before holding it up at the ready. He turned to do more until he heard the not so friendly click that he hated so.

"Freeze! This is S.W.A.T... hands up!" said the other man who turned out to be a S.W.A.T officer. His partner rose up from his fall looked at David with a pained expression, rubbing his injured chin. Both officers had the standard S.W.A.T outfits, they were decked out with body armour, helmet and assault rifles. Both were wearing yellow visors with a material that made it so that they could see through it, but the person who would look at their faces wouldn't be able to do the same, but from the lower area of their faces, David saw that they were Caucasian and judging from the shape of the jaw and lack of wrinkles on the skin, he guessed they were around 25 to 29 years old. The second officer seemed to be the one with more experience due to the authorative tone of voice found only in a commanding officer.

"Geeze kid, who taught you to hit? Superman?" The man on the ground said with a mix of pain and humor. David, relaxed now and chuckled.

"Umm no, but I've been known to have a strong punch" the diamond eyed boy motioned for the girls to come out as went back by the service desk. The officer on the ground slowly got back to his feet as his partner walking up next him, with gun held down.

"What are you kids still doing here?" The second officer asked with his gun now lowered. The still shocked Megan chose to be the one to answer.

"We were shopping and heard the gun shots. While the panic was going on, we with the help of David" she motioned to the taller boy, "... were able to sneak away from the gunmen sir. If we didn't have David I don't think we would have lasted as long as we did." The complement slightly phased David, who never liked or had rarely ever been one to be praised, and he looked away embarrassed. The S.W.A.T Officers looked at one another before the second one nodded.

"Alright, we need to get you out of here. Call me Nick and your punching bag over here is Jordan." The man David had hit, now identified as Jordan, looked offended but kept quiet.

"We're going to need to get you out of here in case things get messy, but me and my partner need to find you a safe way out. These guys got every exit in this district cut off, apparently there are more than just those three up ahead. We had to take the roof entrance in and were almost caught doing so. This means we can't go back the way we came so we need to find another way out since these guys are actually a smart bunch" The three high school students nodded in response understanding the situation. With this said the S.W.A.T officers walked off to the one side of the room to talk about their next plan of action by radioing to the other agents outside which were a decent distance away from the mall so they wouldn't be spotted. The two girls then got up to go sit at one of the tables. The cafe had all its shutters over the windows so it was safe to move around. Megan looked really troubled now that she had a breather. Hannah had her hand on her best friend's back knowing what she was going through. She had nightmares of when she was kidnapped. She always thought of how if Vanguard had not saved her. Where would she be now? The image of her hero to mind.

"Vanguard." Hannah said just loud enough for the two other teens to hear her.

"What did you say Hannah?" Megan asked her friend out of curiosity momentarily forgetting her problems. Hannah looked embarrassed of her slip of tongue. She had keep quiet about who had saved her two months ago, saying that she never got a name and or a good look at her hero. She decided to confess to her friend.

"Vanguard is a new super hero. He was the one that saved me when I was kidnapped. I was kind of wishing that he was here that's all." She said this with a blush on her face. David who had heard all of this was fighting with himself on whether or not to transform or not. All these delays were getting to him. He needed, no, the hostages needed him now! But here he was waiting to give everyone the slip once they were to safety. The two officers had decided on their plan and gathered the three up. Nick briefed them on the plan.

"Ok we are going to make a break for one of the shops that have out side windows from there we will just break the windows and just climb out. We found one such shop not far from here that's on the first floor. Even better there seems to be no one guarding it. We will head here and get you guys outside." With this said they headed out. The group made their way to the closest store that had safe outdoor access which happened to be a coffee shop on the first floor. The shop had a large window wall for people to enjoy the beauty of the small garden on the other side. They ducked and ran from cover to cover all across the ten stores' length distance. The trip was a slow one as everyone took turns diving into cover. The order was usually one of the officers, with the other covering him, Hannah or Megan, David following after the girls, and the last officer covered by the first. During one of the transitions, David noticed Hannah was somewhat trembling. He leaned in and whispered.

"You ok?" David said in his usual tone, though hushed by his attempt to be quiet. Hannah looked up over to David. She saw with his eyes locked on her. His stone grey eyes showing little emotion, but his face and body language spoke loud enough for her to know he was concerned. She looked down trembling a little more.

"I'm fine I just... I wish that Vanguard was here to help us." She said with a sad tone in her voice. The officer Nick had over heard her and found himself asking.

"Who?" He asked waiting to be answered. She seemed hesitant for a moment before answering. "He's a super hero who rescued me about two months ago from a bunch of thugs. He said he's was new to being a hero. It's the reason you probably don't know him." Her tone was quiet and nervous with something that David also detected something else that worried him for a moment.

'Is that... regret in her voice?' He thought with concern. Why would she regret tell the police about Vanguard? He ran the thought through his multiple times until it hit him.

'I'm not keen on meeting the police just yet so when we get to the police station, you just go walk in and I'll hang out here until I think your good.'

That was the last thing "Vanguard" had said to her after rescuing her. David felt like smacking himself in the face. She felt horrible about tell an officer about Vanguard since he didn't want to be in the spot light. Before he could finish his thoughts any further they had come close to their destination. The only thing that was between them and freedom was an open space intersection. They all decided to make a mad dash for the store. They were almost there when sound of gun fire met their ears. They all started to pick up their pace until one of the bullets met the officer Nick in the back of the leg causing him to almost fall and would have if David had not caught him and thrown him into the store with an impressive feat of strength on his part, where he was picked up and aided by his partner. With the girls and the officers, David made a mad dash to door of the store. He was cut off by a hail of bullets that blocked his escape. The teenage male, with quick reflexes and the aid of calling upon the power that turned his eyes diamond white, was able to dive into cover quick enough to avoid the gun fire. He quickly deactivated his power so to turn his eyes back to normal and began to shout out to the others.

"Go! I'll be fine!" David shouted. Hannah stared at the boy with a scared look.

"Are you MAD?"

"I'LL BE FINE, HANNAH! I PROMISE... Just get out now and bring more help!" he directed the last statement to the S.W.A.T officer. With this said he ran deeper into the mall with his new 'friends', following after with their weapons ablaze and bullets racing after the teenager. Jordan didn't like the idea of leaving a kid alone in an area full of armed assailants, but knew he had to get his partner and the girls out of danger. He turned and let loose a few shots the destroyed the glass window and lead the girls out while carrying his partner over his shoulder.

-SCENE BREAK-

David made his way into a another store. He made a quick look around to make sure no was watching. He got down onto one knee and closed his eyes. He just stayed there as if in some sort of trance or meditations. Then out of nowhere, a silver liquid appear. It snaked around his body and branched off to cover his limbs. Once the liquid cover the majority of his body it flattened and became skin tight as hardened into metal. David now in his metal suit, minus the helmet, raised his head a bit with his eyes still closed. The same metalic liquid appeared and enveloped David's head, forming his helmet. Within the dark void of his helmet's eye sockets, diamond white eyes sprung to life. He stood up and looked through the door that he had came through. His patience had been worn thin since the beginning of this incident and now he would act. As Vanguard walked out of the store his one thought was to make the ones responsible pay. He raised his hands and cracked his knuckles.

'Time to show them what Vanguard can do'

-SCENE BREAK-

Hannah, Megan, and the two officers had made their way to the police surrounding the mall. The officer Nick had been rush to the hospital for his gunshot wound to the leg. The officer Jordan went to report to his superior. As for Megan and Hannah, they were being with other rescued civilians. They happened to be close to the sheriff of police, who was trying to negotiate with the terrorists until FBI or someone else came and took command. Hannah was looking down, worried for David. He had stayed behind because of his selfless act to save the officer and he was most likely paying for it. They left him and he could be dead because they didn't ...

"Hey you ok Hannah?" Asked her best friend. Hannah looked up to Megan with her almost teary eyes.

"We just left him to die and now ..." she couldn't finish as Megan chose to interrupt.

"Look we both know we couldn't do anything to help David. He want to make sure we were safe and that's what he did, it's who he is. Also he was running the last we saw him and I don't think you've ever seen him running full sprint so believe me he's fast. He's probably just lost the terrorist and is laying low as we speak." Megan continued to comfort her friend by put her hand on her shoulder.

'I hope I'm right' she thought, unaware of how misplaced her worries were.

-SCENE BREAK-

Throughout the mall screams and gun fire were heard from the mall security office where the terrorists had made their base of operations. There in the corner was about fifteen hostages of all ages huddled together, the mall security officers being members of the hostage group. Over near the desk were four men and the leader. The leader was a tall white man with black hair and a short beard to match. He looked to be at least in his late thirties and had the classic scar over his lip and one near his eye. With him he had five men all carrying AK-47s. At the moment he was enraged and fearful all at the same time. His now blood red face, covered in sweat as he and his comrade looked at the surveillance footage. There one the screens, one by one, he saw his men being taken down by a strange man who was covered in armour.

"What the hell is this shit! I thought New York didn't have super freaks." His voice held the emotions of rage, annoyance, and fear mixed all together. He looked to the man on the computer. "I want you to track his movements, I want to know where he is before he even knows it himself. Since they sent in someone I guess they don't take me seriously. I'll fix that thought soon enough." He looked to his right and yelled towards another terrorist. "You! Get some men out there to help reinforce the hallways and make sure that freak doesn't get ..." But he was cut off before he could finish by the sound of gun fire and screams coming from the other side of the door. The leader became more worried as his sweat became more apparent. He looked over the man on the computer again. "What the hell is happening out there!" But all he got what the paled face of his comrade whose face was drenched in sweat. On the screen the man saw all of his men, which was group of seven, outside and out cold. Standing in the middle of the hallway stood the strange man. He went over to one down man and took something from his vest and pulled what looked like a pin. He dropped it and it went off and sent smoke everywhere, clouding the camera watching. All the remaining men prepared for the stranger's entrance through the door, all pointing their weapons at the door, except the man guarding the hostages. They waited and waited and waited but nothing ever happened. The leader looked to the man still on the computer signifying he wanted a report. The man read the non-verbal command and looked at the footage of outside in the hallway. He waited for the smoke to clear but when it did, he saw nothing. He shook his head signifying he saw nothing. In the corner in the group of hostages, cried a boy who was in the arms of his mother. His crying soon got on the guard's nerve as he snapped.

"Will you shut that fucking kid up before I put a bullet through his head!" He was then met with a piece of drywall to the face as Vanguard broke through the drywall of the office, creating both a man sized hole and a hand full of broken teeth in the process. Vanguard then turned to the hostages and yelled.

"Through the hole, Now! I'll keep them busy. I've cleared out all the terrorist outside so you should run to the nearest exit!" With that said he charged and shoulder tackled the closest man to him. He then turned and was met with gunfire that staggered him for a moment but he recovered and pressed forward. As he ran, he dodged and weaved to minimize the hits he took. The bullets may not be able to punch through his armour, they still slowed him down due to the impacts. He worked his way to his next target, who received a blow to the gut and was gasping for air as Vanguard lifted him by his shirt. This is when Vanguard noticed a man try and salvage the situation by taking aim at the hostages that had yet made it through. Vanguard gritted his teeth as he pulled a pistol off the man he still had hold of and holding it in his right hand took three shots at the man. He succeeded at disarming the man by hitting him in the forearm, most likely shattering the bone underneath with how the arm laid in a ...discomforting position. With that done Vanguard dropped the gun and proceeded to deal with the man still in his hold. He brought a right hook to the side of the head of the still sore man, causing him to black out as he flew into the security system causing it to spark and smoke. Vanguard looked to the hole he made to see the last of the hostages gone. He smiled, glad to see everyone safe. He turned his attention to the remaining three men. They all opened fire, but still only manage to slow the hero's charge. On the desk was a telephone that started ringing. In the middle of all the chaos one of them managed to knocked to floor causing it to fall of its stand and be answered.

-SCENE BREAK-

On the other side of the phone line was the chief of police and a FBI negotiator were listening in on the ordeal since the phone dropped onto the floor on the other end. The phone was conveniently on speaker so to let everyone hear the ensuing chaos. Through it, you could hear the sound of gunfire and bullets hitting metal. Now and then you here a scream, follow by some grunts. After two screams it sounded like it was over when a voice broke the silence.

"Who are you!" Said the voice they recognized as the leader of the terrorists. There were footsteps heard in the back ground. Then there was a another grunt of pain but it was different. After about fifteen long agonizing seconds a new voice broke the silence. "I am who I am...I am the first to go to fight..I am as my namesake dictates... I AM VANGUARD!" The roar of Vanguard announcing his name quickly spread throughout the area. Hannah who was nearby looked towards the phone as tears of joy filled her eyes and her mouth spread into a wide smile. Megan who was next to her was to shocked to notice as she was as stunned as everyone else. The sound of bone cracking was later heard. The people listening winced at the sound. Then after ten minutes, the S.W.A.T team was about to go in to see what had happen when out came Vanguard dragging the leader of the terrorists as well as the other members he had collected along the way, out cold by the back of their vests. His posture showed many things, confidence, power, and most of all, no fear as he walked on. The police were stunned to say the least as they just all just stood there watching Vanguard drag the terrorist leader closer to the front of the crowd, where the chief of police was at. At some point the police all got out of their state of shock and took aim at Vanguard as he drew closer to their chief. When they did this Vanguard stopped and looked around. He happened to be quite close to where the chief's position. After a moment of thinking Vanguard shrugged and tossed the men in his grasp forward, where they landed right in front of the chief with a simultaneous grunt. The chief just stood there in shock. He looked to the man on the ground to the literal man of steel, before him. Vanguard just stood there for a moment and decided to scan the crowd behind the chief, all made up of the people that had decided to see what was going on, mixed in with the hostages he had managed to save. He continued to scan the area when his eyes landed on Hannah and Megan. He smiled knowing they were safe. He gave a quick nod to Hannah, who smiled in return, and returned his focus to the chief. He looked the chief in the eyes. The chief couldn't help, but feel overwhelmed by the look in those diamond coloured eyes.

"Well...I'm done here" he stated and the metallic warrior turned. He began to walk off when all the reporters broke through the crowd. The stampede of reporters caused Vanguard to visibly flinch as he took a step back.

"Who are you?" one asked.

"Is Vanguard really the name you're going with?"

"Are you a new superhero?"

"Are you one of the newest members of the Justice League we've heard about?"

"What are your powers?" The teenage warrior, blessed by the power of a deity, could only gape in shock as he tried to clear his head from the bombardment of questions. He regained his composure a second later, he raised his hand. A smirk played on his face before pointing into the sky.

"LOOK IT'S SUPERMAN!" the entire crowd of people turned at the mention of the Kryptonian hero, but when they realized he wasn't there, they turned back just in time to see the silver coloured hero power jump over the reporters, where he landed some distance behind them. When he landed he made mad dash to an apartment building and power jumped up it and disappeared. The whole crowd were stunned at Vanguards jumping prowess. The reporters' arms, which contained their recording devices, all dropped and their heads hung in disappointment.

"The story of the century, and gone with a single bound" one reporter sighed. Back in the crowd Hannah was giggling to herself as Megan watched her. She remembered Vanguard's excuse to not go public was because of the police, but now she thought that was only half of the truth. Megan, who had caught the look and nod Vanguard had given her and wondered what she had missed. Her pondering was cut short when remembered someone important.

"David!" She exclaimed. She had almost forgotten the teen in all the excitement. Hannah also had been rudely awakened by the revelation. The two teenage girls began to search for their friend in the crowd, hoping he had slipped through the terrorists and made it out. They searched desperately for their new friend. Right when they started to lose hope, they spotted him in the crowd looking around him. He, apparently, was also looking for the girls and had not spotted them yet. They both began to run as fast asthey could to greet him. When they reached him they both jumped him and hugged him. This sudden surprise caused David to blush like a mad man.

"Ummm uh..." he stuttered. The girls finally remembered what they were doing and quickly released him. Megan just grinned and scratched the back of her head embarrassed because of her actions, while Hannah blushed, matching the same tone of red as David. David recovered from his shock and regained his composure moments later. Megan like always had the first question.

"How did you get out?" She asked still happy her new friend was safe. David took a moment and what looked like he was gathering his thoughts.

"When I got separated from you guys, I turned tail and ran from those terrorist guys. I managed to lose them and hid in a store until I heard gunfire and screams. After a while they died down and I went to check what was happening. When I peeked outside the store all the terrorist were unconscious. I decided to make a run for an exit and slipped out the back entrance. I made it over to this side just in time to see that weird metal guy."

"Yeah, I don't know who he is but he must strong to take on a who mall filled with terrorists. I mean did you see how he just walked out, handed practically the entire terrorist group over to the police and walk away. It's like they don't even worry him enough to be a threat to or something. What his name again?" Megan spoke a hundred words minute, with all that happened David couldn't blame her for being excited. His thoughts were interrupted by Hannah, who decided to speak her piece. "His name is Vanguard. He's the one I told you guys about, the one who saved me. The city's new hero." She said with smile and a light in her eyes. Megan stopped and processed what she said and turned to Hannah.

"Do you know him or something Hannah? I saw how you reacted when came out and also the nod he gave you." Her face gained a grin that would have made the Chesire Cat proud. "Is he your boyfriend?" Megan asked causing Hannah to look like a fish out of water.

"Wh-What?"

"I mean I didn't know you were into the hero type, but guess you learn something new every day" The whole scene was comical as Hannah was blushing a deep crimson and for some reason David thought he heard a chipmunk like laugh coming from Megan causing the boy to tilt his head in confusion. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts and looked around. The police had started wrapping things up.

"Well as fun as this was..." he spoke with a bit of sarcasm, "I think we should go home" They went to the nearest bus station and took the bus that headed towards Megan's apartment complex. After a half an hour or so, they reached their stop and got off. They walked the short distance to Megan's apartment building and finally reached their destination. Megan waved goodbye to David and Hannah and proceeded to walk up the few steps to get to the door. Before she could get half way up, the door was slammed open and Megan was brought into the warming embrace of her mother's arms. There they were joined by Max and her father as the all embraced Megan happy for her to be home. David and Hannah smiled at the scene, but David's own quickly dropped as he saw the happy faces of the girl's parents and sibling.

'Must be nice to have real parents and a sibling' he thought. Before the two other teens left they waved their goodbyes and went back towards the bus stop. They boarded another bus that was heading for Hannah's neighbourhood and decided to catch some sleep since it was the last stop. After a while the bus came to a stop waking David. He was about to get up when he felt a weight on him. He looked over to see Hannah fast asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. David blushed lightly at the contact, but kept his straight face. Before he moved her he got a good look at her face. It was so much more peaceful than when he had saved her from those thugs. There was no discomfort, no pained expression...just an expression of peace and tranquility. This was brought to an end when the driver yelled back to David it was time to get off. David gently shook the girl.

"Hey, Hannah...time to wake up. We're at your place" he said. Hannah yawned as David woke her up and they walked off the bus. They walked through the neighbourhood and David saw the large houses. He just chalked it up to this being a more wealthier part of the city. After all New York was known to be a place filled with apartments and houses were rarely found in the city areas. The two walked down the sidewalk and reached one of the two story houses. Hannah and David walked up the driveway to the door of the house and David looked her once over before turning.

"Well...guess I'll be seeing you then" David stated. The green eyed girl nodded and then graced the grey eyed teen with an unexpected hug.

"Thanks for keeping your promise" she whispered loud enough for him to hear. David froze, but after a while and returned the hug if a bit histant.

"No problem" David said before letting go. However, after about three seconds he realized the girl was still holding onto him.

"Ummm...Hannah?" the girl gasped before backing away. She blushed a bit causing the boy to laugh a bit at her expression. "See ya, Hannah" he walked off before walking to go back to his apartment. Before entering she turned to David and flashed a warm smile as she waved goodbye. She entered the house closing the door behind her. Before David exited the driveway, he heard cries of joy coming from the house. Through the window he saw a man and a woman both hugging Hannah. He turned away, almost hiding the smile that graced his face. One that he found himself doing alot more often since becoming Vangaurd. He walked away back to the city and when he made it back to the city, he made his way home. He opened his apartment door and walked inside. The inside was silent as always. He made his way to the kitchen to make dinner when thought hit him.

"Damn it! I forgot my stuff at the mall!" He yelled, annoyed at his blunder. He went to his fridge and pulled out some leftovers and quickly ate his meal. He went over to his window and opened it, letting fresh air in. He climbed over it and to the other side, where a fire escape was. He walked the fire escape to the roof where he stood there taking deep breaths. He activated his powers, dawning his armour and diamond eyes. He began to sprint to other side of the roof. Right before he ran straight off, preformed a small power jump and soared over to the roof of another building. He kept going once hit the roof and performed another power jump. He kept doing this until he was out of sight range. From below someone could only describe it as some ninja jumping from build to build. He quickly made his way to his favourite spot where he spent most of his nights on his patrols. As he went and brought out the police scanner out of its hiding space, he turn it on and quickly began to lay down. Today had been mentally stressful for the young hero so he welcomed the idea of some shut eye. He was just about to fall into the embrace of sleep when the little radio he had came to life.

"Attention all units, there is a potential ..." as the scanner continued the details of the report David got up and stretched. Running to the edge once more he jumped off to the roof tops below. Like they always say and hero's job is never done.

-SCENE BREAK-

San Francisco, California 10:00 p.m EST

In the shadows of a dark warehouse, a man sat in a comfortable leather chair within the dimly lit room and just like his room, his clothes were expensive looking. An Italian suit and snake skin cobra boots were worn. The man took a blow of his Cuban cigar and exhaled the cancer causing smoke into the air. The door to the man's well furnished room opened.

"был определенный артикль Миссия успех/Was the mission successful?" the man asked with a deep voice, speaking Russian. He saw one of his subordinates, a blonde haired, blue eyed woman, enter as his eyes snapped open to reveal the dark blue irises within them. The subordinate shook his head.

"No sir, the terrorist attack was fought back" the subordinate also spoke in Russian. The leader sighed as he crossed his hands in front of his chest.

"First the girl...now our attack...what are the causes of these setbacks?" the subordinate quickly turned and pressed the remote for the television within her superior's quarters. The screen flashed white and CNN's theme music blared loudly throughout the office.

"Today, we come to you with the newest story. New York City now has it's very own superhero. He's new to the game, but seems to be doing a great job so far. The new hero, goes by the name of Vanguard" the female anchor spoke as an image of the armoured warrior appeared on the screen. "Earlier today, this newbie was just able to stop a terrorist attack at the NYC mall complex and so far, judging from the way the criminals were taken out, our sources presume that Vanguard possesses super strength, some form of invulnerability as well as the ability to leap buildings in a single bound and the armour he wears is seemingly indestructible, able to withstand a bombardment of gunfire from the terrorists. Let's if THIS man of steel, can make the cut as a hero. Now we'll go to..." the television was shut off and the leader's blue eyes narrowed as he watched the now, black screen.

"Hmm, a superhero eh? Well..." the leader chuckled before taking another drag of his cigar. "Things just got a lot more interesting"

**AN: well what did ya think. You can thank KistuneDragon for that last scene it has opened some possiblities that I will act upon sometime in the future. Oh and I got a special treat for you guys next chapter. Oh and before I go. FORCE PERSUADE "You will tell your friends what you have read here today. You will have them subscribe to this story. And if you haven't already, you, yourself will subscribe.". Well I'm done here, see ya.**


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